Devastated girlfriend of stabbed teenager Freddie Moody tells of his struggle to turn back on knives

The devastated girlfriend of stabbed teenager Freddie Moody has told how he had struggled to turn his back on a life of knives and gangs.

Barbara Akabah said Freddie, 18, had enrolled on a business course but tragically pulled out due to pressure from his gang mates.

Police believe he was dealing in crack cocaine before being ambushed by eight rival hoodies who had lain in wait for him.

Barbara, 18, said: “The people that killed Freddie were only kids themselves, trying to prove themselves and show they were somebody.

“Freddie had big ambitions. He wanted to be different, he didn’t want that life. We used to talk about it and he’d say how stupid it was, all that gang stuff. But the thing is that if you live here, you are involved. You can’t not be. This was a planned attack. They were under orders to get him. He had no chance, but they don’t care. All they care about is status. And because of that I’ll never see Freddie again.”"

Barbara said: “You can tell which gang someone’s in by what they wear – Otre wear tracksuits and Hotshots don’t. It’s like a code.

Freddie, who lived with mum Mary, stepfather Ernest Amoakah and younger sister Tamara, was on his way to visit a friend on Thursday when he was stabbed in the heart in Stockwell, South London.

He died shortly after suffering a heart attack in hospital – becoming the 21st teenager to be murdered in the capital this year.

A 16-year-old boy is in custody.